AbaThembu King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo has defended his decision to facilitate a visit by Israeli embassy officials to public hospitals in the Eastern Cape.
Dalindyebo insisted that no law or constitutional provision compels him to account to either the president or the provincial government.
“There is no legislation, no constitutional premise, that actually enforces me to account to a president or to a premier of whatever nature and of whatever kind,” the king said.
The remarks come amid a growing diplomatic fallout after Dalindyebo escorted Israeli officials to Mthatha General Hospital and Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital without the knowledge or approval of the department of international relations and co-operation (Dirco) or the Eastern Cape provincial government.
Images of the visit were widely shared on social media by the Israeli embassy, which said: “Health experts from Israel will assist hospitals in the Eastern Cape.”
The embassy also said that an Israeli delegation had visited the two hospitals to discuss potential co-operation with Sheba Medical Centre, Israel’s largest hospital.
Israeli foreign affairs ministry senior official David Saranga, who was part of the visit, echoed the message online, saying the tour followed King Dalindyebo’s recent visit to Israel and his meeting with the director of Sheba Medical Centre.
“We held in-depth discussions with their CEOs on co-operation with Sheba, Israel’s largest and most comprehensive hospital,” Saranga said, noting that the facility has been ranked eighth among the world’s best hospitals by Newsweek.
The visit however coincided with Dirco announcing that it had declared Israeli chargé d’affaires Ariel Seidman persona non grata, ordering him to leave South Africa within 72 hours.
“Mr Seidman is required to depart from the Republic within 72 hours,” Dirco said in a media statement on Friday.
The department said it had formally informed the Israeli government of its decision, citing what it described as a “gross abuse of diplomatic privilege” and a “fundamental breach of the Vienna Convention”.
“These violations include the repeated use of official Israeli social media platforms to launch insulting attacks against President Cyril Ramaphosa, and a deliberate failure to inform Dirco of purported visits by senior Israeli officials,” the department said.
“South Africa’s sovereignty and the dignity of its offices are inviolable,” said Dirco.
King Dalindyebo dismissed the controversy, saying the visit was lawful and being unnecessarily politicised.
“People are making an issue out of something that is not even an issue. The visit is, of course, by its own merit on legal premise,” he said.
“As royalty, we have no law that actually restricts us from any international interaction, from any bilateral relations with any country.”
He argued that public hospitals did not belong to the state but to the people, and that as a monarch, he was their primary custodian.
“They do not necessarily belong to the state. And second, as a monarch, I’m the number one custodian. Now, I don’t see any head of state or premier that is above a king,” he said.
“To question me or for me to be obliged to report to small boys like that, it would be out of logic and out of God’s order.”
The king also accused national and provincial leaders of corruption, referencing unaccounted funds linked to disaster relief and donations.
“We are facing a problem where we are dealing with kleptomania thieves from premier to president,” he said, alleging that funds donated for flood relief in the Eastern Cape had not been properly accounted for.
“I will not accept to be subjected to that kind of condition,” he said, reiterating that no law required him to account to government authorities.
Dalindyebo further claimed that kings possessed proclamation powers that could override existing laws.
“I can declare whatever existing law in the country null and void,” he said.
The controversy has revived criticism surrounding the king’s visit to Israel last year, where he was hosted by senior government officials without Dirco approval.
That visit drew backlash after images showed the South African flag displayed during meetings, which critics said falsely suggested the king was acting on behalf of the country.
Israeli officials later said the king’s trip to Jerusalem had laid the groundwork for reciprocal co-operation, particularly in water, health, agriculture and education in the Eastern Cape.
Dirco has since urged Israel to ensure that its future diplomatic engagements respect South Africa’s sovereignty and established diplomatic protocols.
TimesLIVE